YOUR MINDSET MATTERS! – OJEME ISIOMA

Have you ever wondered why you keep trying but nothing seems to be working out for you? Have you ever thought to think of why you keep failing at something, even though you do everything possible to succeed at it? I would share with you my experience. Throughout my Secondary school days, I failed Mathematics. I did not have to think twice before I knew that the Arts class was for me when I was crossing over from JSS3 to SS1. In fact, when I say that there was no thinking twice, it was actually because there wasn’t. I was way above average as an Arts student, because I was great at the Arts related subjects in contrast to the sciences, but the one subject that always kept pulling me back was Mathematics! Two actually, Mathematics and Yoruba. I believe that some of my readers who have had or are currently having similar challenges would be able to really relate with this. I never really likedmy Mathematics teachers, not because they were not good, they were, but because I felt that they sort of looked down on me because I never did well in their subject, that kind of feeling. But guess what? My Mathematics teacher in SS3 turned out to be one of my favourite teachers, even up till this minute! So, does that mean I finally did well in Mathematics in SS3? Well, the answer is NO.

Mr. Elijah who was my Mathematics teacher in SS3, will forever earn my thanks. He was and is still a very wonderful teacher. With him teaching my class mates and I Mathematics, he unknowingly taught me a lot of things beyond the Mathematics that seemed too hard for me to understand. One of the many things that Mr. Elijah made me realize was that ninety percent of your success or failure at a particular thing or in life generally, depends on your mindset. “Your mind is the most powerful tool that you can use to connect with success and failure” (paraphrased) he would always say. I realized almost too late that no one was responsible for my failure in Mathematics but myself. Let’s say I was super determined to pass Mathematics in WAEC and NECO, but my determination was not strong enough to renew my mindset towards Mathematics. In summary, I never really believed I could pass Mathematics, even up till when I was writing it as an external examination and so I simply did not, or let’s say I did because for me, having a D7 in Mathematics in both WAEC and NECO was a good pass compared to the F9s I had in the school examinations! My failure in Mathematics was an inner problem of the mind that only I (with God’s help) could solve, but believe me when I say that Mr. Elijah tried for me. I suppose that by now, you would have made the right guess of where I’m headed! Yes, you are right! Your mindset matters!

In life, there are times when we search for the solution to our problems all around the world, whereas, we are only ignorant of the fact that the solution or solutions lie within us. In preparation for Mathematics in my external exams, I would fruitlessly run from one person to another to getexplanations for the things that my mind and heart had long been closed against, in fact as at then, it was now locked because I believed it was even too late to try even while I was “trying”. So, my question to you is, what are you trying to go through that your mind is already locked up against? My dear, an advice; start with opening up. The mindset you have towards success is the mentality you have towards succeeding in life and what you believe in is your truth and your truth is your life! So, what do you believe in?

If you desire to succeed at a thing, then you must first succeed at making yourself believe that you can succeed at it. In Marketing and Sales, we say; “Believe in your overall message because it will not be easy to sell other people if you have not sold yourself!”. I say to you; “you may not be able to succeed if you have not yet succeeded at making yourself believe that you can succeed and that is generated from your mindset”. Dr. Myles Munroe of blessed memory said; “The Leadership spirit is the one you were born with but mentality wakes it up!”. The keyword there is mentality. Even the Bible talks about the mind in Romans 12:2 that says; “Do not be conformed to the things of this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…”That literally sums it up! There cannot be a transformation where there is no renewal of the mind! So, dear, if you want to change your life, start by changing your mindset towards life. It is high time we let go of our hand set and our head set and just begin to pay attention to the state of our mindset.

I’ll leave you with this quote by Dr. Myles Munroe (You can call him a man I love so much, even in death); “Nothing changes until your mindset changes”. So, dear, the problem of a negative mindset needs a renewal that can be done by only you, through the help of God’s Word and positive vibes. Never settle for less like me when it came to Mathematics. Never give in to the voices that tell you that you cannot do it. Always remember that the reason why you are your only true motivation is because, the voices of all the motivational speakers you listen to would not be with you all the time, it is only your voice that stays with you, both in the good and the bad times. So, never stop speaking to your soul and challenging your spirit to do great things, but this cannot happen when you maintain a negative mindset. Once you have taken care of your mindset, hard work and other things can follow and theywould definitely yield good results. Get renewed now because YOUR MINDSET MATTERS!